A typical data center may include multiple rack servers and blade servers configured to communicate with one another via one or more network connections. Traditional servers make use of network-based sharing using networking protocols such as Common Internet File System (“CIFS”), Network File System (“NFS”), or Apple File System (“AFS”), for example, to communicate with each other. Operation of such protocols is dependent on the underlying network. Additionally, the server OS must be aware of and compatible with the protocol being used in order to communicate over the network. Communication over a network always adds latency, as the complete end-to-end communications path involves the following six layer: (1) application layer, (2) networking stack layer, (3) file system layer, (4) driver layer, (5) adapter layer; and (6) FI, upstream L2 switch layer. This latency renders communication between servers restricted, slow, and dependent on the OS, networking stack features and support matrix. In addition, for servers to share a block of data, the OS must understand the networking protocol and implement synchronization primitives to protect the data. In summary, data sharing over a network connection always incurs latency and is OS-dependent